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Malayan Emergency - A Pictorial Essay on the Troubled Period of Malayan History

This is quite an interesting story about a conflict that was extremely important in helping to forge the Nation of Malaysia.

I will only insert the opening remarks as there are many photographs to view along with the text.

Malayan Emergency - A Pictorial Essay on the Troubled Period of Malayan History

By Uncle Lee

MALAYAN Emergency: Circa 1948 - 1960:

"Come Out With Your Hands Up"!
"Come out with your hands up"!
"Berenti! Siapa dalam sana"! "Halt! who goes there"?
A walk down history lane, before Merdeka.

As I remember between the cobwebs of time. The Communist uprising.

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed, else like a flower cut from its life, giving roots, it will wither and die."

The Malayan Emergency.

The 12 years jungle war fought by the Malayan Security Forces, British, Australian, New Zealand army, British Commonwealth against the communists led by their leader Chin Peng.

It started with the assassination of three British estate managers at Sungei Siput, Perak. This was later followed by the burning of rubber estates, sabotaging of installations, derailment of trains, burning of buses, generating civil unrest all over the country.

Re: Malayan Emergency - A Pictorial Essay on the Troubled Period of Malayan History

In the early 1950s British troops, many on their national service, fought a Jungle war in Malaya to prevent the country from being taken over by the comunists, back in Britain hardly anyone even knew that this conflict was taking place, this video is a short explanation of that forgotten war.

Re: Malayan Emergency - A Pictorial Essay on the Troubled Period of Malayan History

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuching will see on Tuesday July 26 a homecoming tinged with sadness.

On that day, the remains of 21 Iban trackers and Sarawak Rangers who gave their lives in the defence of the nation will be flown from Kuala Lumpur to the Sarawak capital for reburial, the culmination of efforts of many years.

These gallant men had been killed in action in the service of the British military during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960), declared to fight communist guerrillas, in various states in peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will fly the remains, in 21 jars sacred to the Ibans, to Kuching under an operation codenamed "Mai Pulai", the Iban words meaning "bringing home", and which involved also various government departments and agencies.

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu said the aircraft carrying the jars would land at the RMAF base in Kuching at 12.30 pm on Tuesday.

"From there, the jars will be brought to the First Division Camp here for safekeeping before they are sent to their final resting ground the next day," he added.

Jabu said a special ceremony befitting Iban warriors would held for the reburial at a cemetery behind St Joseph's Cathedral in Kuching, near the World War II Heroes Memorial.

"Sarawak has been trying to bring home the remains of all these fighters for many years ago. And now, the wishes of their families have finally come true," he said.

A previous operation, codenamed "Ngerapuh", an Iban word meaning "moving the remains of the dead", gathered momentum after a visit by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to the Sarawak interior on Feb 23 this year.

The members comprised representatives from the First Division headquarters, Sarawak Veterans Association, the Protocol Department, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation and the Chief Minister's Office.

Jabu said five teams were formed, with the task of bringing back the remains of these heroes from Kedah, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Singapore.

"This is very significant, especially for the affected families, as some of them had lost their fathers, brothers or other loved ones," he said, adding that they now had the opportunity to see that their family members were given a resting place "at home".

The members of the five teams went to the five locations recently to make the final arrangements to bring back the remains.

Prior to the final phase of the operation, a 'miring' ritual was held recently, in conjunction with Ops Mai Pulai, at the office of the State Adat Istiadat Council of the Chief Minister's Department at the Binamas building in Kuching to seek blessings for the safe return of the remains.

Jabu said the 21 jars were brought to Kuala Lumpur for the remains of the trackers or soldiers to be placed in them. The remains were also accorded a 'genselan' (sacrifice of pig or chicken) ceremony in respect of their previous resting ground.

"It (the exhumation) had to be done in a very careful manner and with full tradition so as not to displease the Gods," Jabu said, adding that the exhumation was performed only by those who were spiritually blessed and possessed a special amulet.

The exhumation began on July 20 at all the graves, after a final respect ceremony was held at Wardieburn Camp here attended by some members of the Iban community living and working in Kuala Lumpur.

Lt Col (Rtd) Robert Rizal Abdullah, one of the key people behind the exhumation effort, said he was inspired in the endeavour after he read a plea by a Sarawakian woman who had spotted on a blog that the grave of an Iban tracker was on a roadside in Alor Setar.

"My heart bled when I saw the picture. I vowed to take the matter up to the highest authority. It became my mission," Robert Rizal wrote in his own blog (pgbwarrior/blogspot.com).

In an interview with Bernama later, Robert Rizal, 61, a retired soldier who worked with Defence Ministry and the Sarawak state government on the operation, said the roadside grave was that of Private Ungkok anak Jugam.

It was moved to the side of the road at Km4, Jalan Langgar, Alor Setar, when a dual highway was built more than a decade ago, and the gravestone was left smack in the middle of the highway.

Later, the gravestone was moved to the St Michael's Catholic Church cemetery, also in Alor Setar, in April 2009.

Robert Rizal, formerly known as Robert Madang Langi, is an Iban warrior himself. He has received the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB), the nation's second highest military gallantry award, after a courageous attack on communist terrorists in 1973 in Sarawak. He served the military for 25 years.

He said many Ibans had played an important role as trackers in helping the Commonwealth forces in the war against communist terrorists.

He said the first batch of 49 Dayak trackers were sent to Malaya on Aug 8, 1948, six weeks after the emergency was declared and the then colonial government of Sarawak decided to respond to the request from the Malayan government to help quell the communist insurgency in Malaya. They served as scouts in various military units on a three-month contract basis.

By late 1952, some 380 Dayak trackers were attached to various units in Malaya.

They were later grouped as soldiers into two experimental platoons which were organised into a regimental formation known as the Sarawak Rangers in 1953. The Sarawak Rangers were the predecessors of the current Royal Rangers Regiment.

"In the 12 years of fighting (1948-1960), 21 of them were killed in action and 25 more wounded.

One of them, Awang anak Rawing, earned the only George Cross awarded (for gallantry and heroism) during the Malayan Emergency, the civilian version of the Victoria Cross equivalent to the PGB.

For his contribution and effort, Robert Rizal has been asked to give a short speech during the reburial of the remains on Wednesday.

Asked on what he planned to say, the national hero said he hoped to read a poem specially written for the occasion.

"It would be an emotional feeling for most of us, but what I might say is this: After 60 long years of seemingly eternity, you (the 21 Iban trackers and Sarawak Rangers) are coming home, finally." - Bernama

In 1948, at the beginning of the Malayan Emergency, groups of Iban trackers [3] were recruited to help in the defence against the Communist Party of Malaya. These Iban trackers were organized into a regimental formation as the Sarawak Rangers in 1953. Prior to 1963, they were attached as scouts to many British units serving in Malaya. One of the trackers, Awang anak Rawang was awarded the George Cross on 20 November 1951, during his attachment to the Worcestershire Regiment.

Unau ak. Sauh (FF 1386) was one of the last intakes of Iban Trackers sent to Malaya in 1952 to help the Commonwealth Forces fight the Communist Insurgency. He was in the same platoon with the famous Corperal Menggong ak Panggit who was awarded a George Medal (a civilian equivalent of a PGB) by King George V for his feat in attacking a CT camp. His British platoon commander was killed in the attack and he had to assume command of the platoon.
Soon after his training in Port Dickson, he and his comrades were attached to a British Battalion and were involved in Search and Destroy operations to eliminate the communist terrorists in Johor, which included freeing the town of Labis from their clutch.

The Iban Trackers had been a success. On 1 January 1953, they were reformed into two experimental platoons of Sarawak Rangers (Malayan Unit) – to give them a full military status. They continued to serve in the front line as trackers with the various Commonwealth Forces. On 31 March 1960, Sarawak Rangers (Malayan Unit) was disbanded and reformed into Sarawak Rangers (Far East Land Forces) to become a part of the British Army. Like the Gurkhas, they could now be sent to any war theatre anywhere in the world. On 15 September 1963, however, they were disbanded. On 16 September 1963, in conjunction with Malaysia Day, they were reformed into the modern-day 1st Battalion The Malaysian Rangers.